Mason affair results in severe embarrassment for Moncure Conway

06/10/1863

Moncure Conway wrote to James Murray Mason, Confederate emissary to Britain, declaring his authority (derived from the leading American abolitionists) to negotiate peace with the Confederacy based on an agreement to emancipate Southern slaves. As Conway had no such authority, he was crushingly embarrassed when the correspondence was published. The political fallout added to Conway's disillusionment and caused him to remain estranged from his native country. He remained in England for years to come. (By Blake Dickinson)